Singapore's Sembcorp Marine has signed Master Service Agreements with New Fortress Energy Inc. for the engineering and conversion of two Sevan cylindrical drilling vessels into Floating LNG ("FLNG") liquefaction facilities, including the fabrication and integration of LNG topside modules.
The hull conversion and fabrication of topsides for the first FLNG liquefaction facility is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2024 through the Work Engagement Contract awarded by NFE.
Work on the second FLNG liquefaction facility project is expected to be contracted through further Work Engagement Contracts to Sembcorp Marine at a later date.
The two FLNG liquefaction units will host the NFE-designed Fast LNG liquefaction production facility with a capacity of approximately 1.4 mtpa (million tonnes per annum).
LNG produced will be stored in a separate LNG tanker moored near the FLNG liquefaction facility. While NFE currently has Fast LNG liquefaction facilities on jackup rigs under construction in the U.S., this marks the first set of two Sevan cylindrical hulls to be re-purposed into FLNG liquefaction facilities.
In its quarterly update in May 2022, NFE said it had acquired three jack-up rigs, two Sevan ships, and had three fixed platforms under development, on which gas liquefier modules will be installed.
The Sevan “ships” are actually the Sevan Brasil and Sevan Driller, cylindrical semi-submersible drilling rigs previously owned by Seadrill. The two rigs were sold to NFE in April for $24 million of which Sevan Brasil for $18 million and Sevan Driller for $6 million.
NFE’s offshore LNG solution includes liquefying LNG on platforms, transferring it via cryogenic flexible hose system to a nearby storage vessel, and then transferring it to LNG carriers.
Commenting on the contract award, William Gu, Senior Vice President & Head of Sembcorp Marine Rigs & Floaters Pte Ltd, said, “We are pleased and honoured to partner New Fortress Energy in its Fast FLNG programme through these two FLNG conversion projects incorporating SCM’s proprietary Sevan cylindrical hull design.
"Marking SCM’s successful penetration of the FLNG market, these projects allow our customer to rapidly deploy FLNG facilities to capture the growing demand for LNG liquefaction terminals, and to tap on SCM’s full suite of floating and nearshore LNG solutions that are well placed to meet the needs of the burgeoning LNG market.”
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.